Blogger's Quilt Festival ~ Spring 2012

It's that time of year again when all the cool kids get to go to quilt market and those of us left behind have our own festival of sorts hosted by the lovely Amy.

I do not have a new quilt to share with you all today. I hope you will not mind looking at an oldy again while I talk a bit more about how this quilt came to be.

This quilt's story is pretty much a history of my indecisiveness ;) It started off as a plan to make an entire queen sized quilt by hand, English paper piecing this pattern. I still love these paper pieced circles very much. I believe originally the pattern is called an Amish friendship ring but it's most commonly referred to these days as 'Spring Carnival'.

I soon realized I did not have the determination it would take to finish an entire quilt by hand and this has been on my W.I.P pile ever since (shameful!)

I called in the help of my bee mates in Fresh Modern Bee 2. They all made some beautiful blocks with my AMH stash and I have felt very guilty that none of those blocks ended up in my quilt (again- shameful!)

It is odd really that it took me so long to come to terms with the fact that all I desired for this quilt to be was simple patchwork squares. Perhaps I fancied myself more original and creative than that, but the truth is patchwork squares are my all time favourite. They are what comes to mind when I think of the word "quilt".

To come to terms with my rather boring choice of patchworks squares I decided this quilt needed some fancy quilting. I couldn't simply get away with another favourite of mine; straight line quilting. I knew I would not find the quilting design I was after in the stencils my LQS carries, so I started experimenting with paper templates for hand quilting.
If you are interested in how I used this technique I made a little video tutorial of it  (it's in the sidebar on the right).

Many, many hours of hand quilting later the quilt is now finished. I do enjoy the silky softness of the voile backing and the lightness of the silk wadding, it is pure luxury to sleep under. Now for some warmer summer nights so I can ditch the duvet entirely!

 I am off to have a look at all the other Blogger's Quilt Festival entries :)

Thank you for stopping by!

x Leila

Tova #3

I did it!!
I am not sure if I spent more time sewing or unsewing my third Tova top trying to get the fabric to behave and the print to line up, not to mention fretting over all the little details. But it's done and I am very pleased with it.

I took your advise on the whole grain vs. print issue and cut the pattern pieces so that the print best lined up. There are places where it just wouldn't, but I don't think it is too obvious when I am wearing the top. The grain issue shows most in the collar pieces but I wear the collar open anyway and like it best when it's a bit floppy.

I made a few adjustments to the pattern, first I followed Kerry's Tova Sew Along instructions for adjusting the collar width, and lengthening the sleeves. In the end I decided against the longer sleeve length and shortened them again ;) I reduced the length of the top quite a bit and took the side seams in a little for a more fitted look.

I am so pleased I persevered, I learned lots and gained more confidence in my dress making skills. I absolutely love wearing this silky soft voile, it is just so comfortable!

Pattern: Tova top by Wiksten
Fabric: Four Square Voile by Anna Maria Horner
I sewed along with Kerry who has some excellent tips and tricks! (click on the button below)

x Leila

Happy Mother's Day!

My little monster brought me cornflakes at 6 am this morning - he can make his own breakfast now he's so proud!  'happy mothersday mummy, we're out of milk!' So I let him have the cornflakes and made some coffee for me instead ;)

Have a happy mother's day!!

x Leila

Liberty and Linen

Liberty tana lawns with their soft pretty floral goodness paired with linen is one of those fabric combinations I can never get tired of.




I made a set of four coasters with a small scrappy Liberty log cabin center and a little lace tab. A very satisfying small sewing project indeed! They are listed in the shop

I am not spending quite as much time with my sewing machine as I would like these days. But I am making progress on my voile Tova top. I'm fretting over some last details, sleeve length and overall length of the top but it is very nearly finished!

Have a happy weekend,

x Leila

Duffel Bag

I sneaked away here for a little while but I'm back, rested and refreshed and ready to catch up with all that's been going on in blogland :)
I travel a fair bit so I thought it was high time for some pretty hand luggage, conveniently finished just in time for my holiday.

The pattern is by Studio Cherie, I used Melody Miller typewriters for the main body of the bag (oh how I love them!), a coordinating print from Ruby Star Shining for the pockets and So Sophie Dots by Riley Blake for the handles.

This bag is huge!! I stuffed it with a quilt and two cushions for the photo and there is still room for more! I have never made a bag this large before but it was fairly straightforward and the pattern is easy to follow. I did not particularly enjoy wrestling the bulk of quilted fabric, handles and zippers on my sewing machine but it was well worth the effort.
I felt very smug walking through the airport with my handmade duffel bag, not that anyone took notice of it but still. I fancied myself to be one of those stylish mums with her hip bag full of healthy snacks and entertaining toys for the little one, looking effortlessly glamorous and all. But it is just a bag really, so I ended up rummaging through Happy Meal toys and Maltesers to find the Fanta instead ;)

It's good to be back!

x Leila